ABSTRACT
Over the last decades, IR scholars have explored the distinction between high and low politics. In the real world, the pragmatic and empirical dynamics of international actors tend to be comprised of high and low politics at the same time. However, its differentiation may contribute to conceptual and theoretical purposes. The EU–Mercosur inter-regional relations, and particularly the EU–Mercosur Association Agreement, which has been under negotiation for more than two decades, have been considered by academics and policymakers as a window of opportunity to promote stronger trade and political ties between the two regions, strengthening the overall EU–Latin American inter-regional relations. In geographical terms, it represents the Western peninsula of Eurasia, as a civilisation prescribes the “Western civilization” with Roman, Christian and Renaissance influences. Regional blocs are examples of International Organizations, which are specific international institutions.
